I indicate material to be added by placing it in square brackets and marking it with a "caret," e.g.: [^with].
I also mark material that requires attention simply by placing square brackets around it. Be sure to read through your drafts or returned essays for comments in brackets imbedded in the body of your essay. An arrow [-->] points to a suggested change from the material preceding the arrow.
You should consider the process of revision to consist of more than just incorporating my suggested changes/corrections (that is a minimal expectation). These are primarily local features of a mechanical nature (proof-reading). You should conceive of revision as an opportunity to reconsider the essay as a whole.
Comma SplicesI use the term "comma splice" to indicate the conjoining of two independent clauses with a comma. For example: "It was dark and cold, I wanted to go home." Note that the first clause--"It was dark and cold"--can stand alone as a sentence (it has a subject and a finite verb), as can the second clause. You have several options for revision:
- Replace the comma with a semicolon (semicolons require independent clauses on both sides in most contexts).
- Use subordination: "Because it was cold and dark, I wanted to go home."
- Punctuate them as seperate sentences: "It was cold and dark. I wanted to go home.
Run-on Sentence
A "run-on" is identical to a comma splice but without the comma: "It was dark and cold I wanted to go home."Fragment
A sentence "fragment" lacks the structure required of an independent clause, whether it be the failure to provide a grammatical subject or the absence of a finite verb form. For example: "Joanne sat by the fire. Toasting marshmallows on a cold winter's night." (No grammatical subject in the bold-faced "sentence.") An example of a fragment lacking a finite verb occurs in the parenthetical comment preceding this sentence.
Dangling Modifier
It is easy to fall into this trap when you begin a sentence with a participial phrase (not bad in and of itself) and follow it with a noun phrase that is not the element modified by that participial phrase. For example: "Careening down the street with lights flashing and horn blaring, Joe was almost hit by the fire truck." Note that the bold-faced participial phrase is intended to modify "the fire truck" but because the passive structure of the sentence places "Joe" in "subject position," the modifier and its noun phrase are separated.
Case Error
While English retains only a small fraction of its once-rich inflectional system, personal pronouns are still inflected (i.e., change form) to signal their case, or grammatical function in a clause. Case errors occur most frequently when a pronoun occurs conjoined with another noun or pronound in subject or object position. For example:Sandra gave Bobbie and I ten dollars apiece. (The pronoun should be me because it is a direct object.)Let's keep this just between you and I. (The pronoun should be me because it is the object of the preposition between.)
Whitey and me used to play ball together. (The pronound should be I because it is part of the grammatical subject of the sentence.)
Other Pronoun Problems
While it is advisable to avoid contractions in formal prose in any event, another reason to do so is to avoid the "its" (sing., neuter pronoun) and "it's" (contraction for "it is") trap. There is a temptation to construe the apostrophe-s as a marker of the possessive, but remember that pronouns retain "built-in" case inflections.Consider carefully whether the use of the second person ("you") is warranted. Do you have a specific purpose for doing so? If not, you risk sounding presumptious by addressing your reader(s) directly. You is appropriate when your purpose is to give advice or explain how to do something. Be alert also to the need to maintain a consistent point of view.
Quotation Marks with Commas and Periods
In U.S. usage, the quotation marks (single or double) are placed after a comma or a period. For example: Do this: "I like the essay 'Peterbilt Pickups,' by Gordon Baxtor." Not this: "I like the essay 'Peterbilt Pickups', by Gordon Baxtor".Note that this is the opposite of what is conventional in British English usage...Note also that when quotation marks are required within a quotation, single quotation marks alternate with double quotation marks.
Dashes
Two hyphens = a dash (--); the primary function of the dash is a parenthetical one, requiring dashes on each end of the parenthetical clause. Single dashes should be used sparingly in formal writing. Many computer applications allow you to create an "em-dash" (a true dash as contrasted with a hyphen or two hyphens). These usually do not display correctly in "text-only" files or in Web browsers.
Cross-Platform Compatibility
"Smart" or "curly" quotes and apostrophes do not always translate well across platforms. The possessive "John's" may appear as "John,s," for example. For any "text-only" file, try to use "straight" quotes:' or "Similar problems occur with m-dashes (see preceding) and elipses (...) produced as a single keystroke rather than three periods.